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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

In September we took a trip to the Pacific Northwest and spent 3 days in Seattle and 1 day in Vancouver as a day trip. 4 full days out there total. It was the perfect time of year with gorgeous sunny warm days and cool nights plus as planned, we avoided the Democratic National Convention craziness in Charlotte! Even though this area is known for rain and gloominess we didn't experience even 1 minute of that!

Day 1 in Seattle: Queen Anne, The Market, Belltown

We left Friday after work and flew direct to Seattle. We took the light rail from the airport to downtown and then a pretty short cab ride to the condo we rented in the Queen Anne neighborhood (1 bedroom/1 bath). We could have walked it but we had suitcases and it was pretty late. We settled in, grabbed a few groceries at the QFC a few blocks away and called it a night.

Saturday we began by walking around the Queen Anne neighborhood. This is the view from the condo.

No one has ever mentioned Seattle as being hilly to me but it has by far the most hills of the cities I have been to. You don't need a car when visiting because they have some great public transportation options and it is walkable... just be warned that a good bit of walking is up or down hills.

After exploring Queen Anne we walked all the way to The Market. It was quite a long walk but it was a beautiful morning. The Market is the largest I have ever been to spanning many blocks with stands/shops upstairs and downstairs.

They have an extensive flower market.

Clemson flowers!

Of course it is known for for the flying fish stand (where they throw giant fish across the fish probably about 10 feet) which we were able to witness but not catch on camera.

And they have rows and rows of fresh produce.

We got some famous Beecher's Mac and Cheese, a Beecher's bretzel (braided pretzel) and split a pretty big fish sandwich from another stand and sat in some outside seating to eat lunch. Perfect lunch! Although Eric did say "your mom's mac and cheese is just as good". Can't argue with him on that.

We explored more of the market area then walked down to the nearby docks where the cruise ships leave from.

They had jams, honey, and crafts too.

This is Rachel the pig, the mascot of the market.

The wall of gum. Really it has turned into an entire hallway area of gum instead of just 1 wall.

Making sure we know where to go

Waterfront where a ferris wheel was recently built.

We walked around a little bit more of the downtown area.

We headed to Belltown to a bar called Buckley's which is where the Seattle Clemson Club viewing party was for the Clemson vs. Auburn game.

Not a huge turnout as the alum club is small but there were about 12 people there watching and we had a room all to ourselves. We had a hummus plate appetizer which was quite good and of course pulled a W for the Clemson Tigers!

After the game we walked several blocks to Palace Kitchen, a Tom Douglas restaurant I had read great reviews on. We sat at the bar, had some drinks and shared the goat cheese and lavender fondue with bread and apples and a zucchini gratin dish. Both were delicious, the fondue especially... sounds different but it was amazing.

Also this trip was my first time getting to use my new 35mm fixed lens which I love for food pictures and low light situations. More on that another time.

After that we took a bus back to the Queen Anne area near the condo to get a good night's rest for our day trip to Vancouver the next day!